Living For God Part Four:

As I sat down and read 1^st Peter I looked at this verse in chapter four verse 5, “Of course, your former friends are very surprised when you no longer join them in the wicked things they do, and they say evil things about you.”  I wondered for a minute is this true of me, have I been growing in God’s love and have I been changing some of my views on things.  At a wedding I recently attended, I saw an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long, I have kept up with her ministry through Facebook.  I told her how exciting it was to see God working through her.  What she told surprised and amazed me.  She said, “I don’t watch football anymore and have no desire to do so either.”  A little surprised at her answer knowing that she was one of the biggest football fans I have known and wondering what this had to do with her ministry I continued to listen to her as she continued.  “Over a year ago I asked God to remove anything in my life that hindered my ministry and my relationship with Him, since then I no longer had any interest in football.”   Watching football is not a sin nor was she implying that it was but it had become one. She had realized it had become a bigger influence over her life then God.  Talk about a change in someone going from being a die-hard football fan to not even knowing who played in the Super Bowl!

When we come to Christ and we want to have salvation we are to realize that we are to walk away changed forever.   We should be changed to the point, that our friends will no long understand the decisions that we make, that we are to no longer desiring the things of this world but desiring the things of heaven.  Just before chapter 4:4 we read these words “So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning.  And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.”(1^st Peter 4:1-3)  Paul is telling this group and us that when we give our lives over to Christ we are no longer salves to this world.  We are to no longer be salves to our own sinful desires, we must give them over to God and allow His Spirit take over and be changed forever by His love.  God changes us from the inside we may still look the same on the outside but our mind and soul have been changed forever.  We are to not stop growing in His love and power; we must go and share the very same love that God has shown us with others.

Peter Calls us to change, to come to a point where we are no longer controlled by our old selves, but controlled by the love of God. We must come to the point where we are willing to give everything to God for His Glory; “Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever.”  It is through God that we find salvation, is it really that much to ask Him, with a sincere heart, what must I give up in order to draw closer to you so others may find your salvation?  For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.  When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ,H e will certainly save us from God’s judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of His Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by His life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.” (Romans 5:5-11)